Last Updated on January 10, 2024 by Isabella Echeverría

Acai bowls have gained widespread popularity around the world. These brightly coloured/colored smoothie bowls with lots of fun toppings can be found on the menu of many local cafes and juice bars. Unfortunately, however, many of these cafe-made acai bowls are expensive and often filled with added sugars.

Luckily, I’m going to teach you how to make your own homemade acai bowls from scratch without the added sugars or the hefty price tag!

Read on to learn more about acai bowls and for my own favourite/favorite homemade acai bowl recipe.

What Is Acai?

Acai is a type of fruit that grows on the acai palm native to the Amazon. Although not technically berries because they contain a pit, acai fruits are often referred to as acai berries.

They are fairly small in size – just about 1-inch in diameter. But regardless of their small size, these fruits are bursting with nutrients. They contain special plant compounds called anthocyanins, which give them their dark purple skin and are incredibly rich in antioxidants as well as many trace minerals and fibre/fiber. 

What Are Acai Bowls?

Acai bowls are smoothie bowls made with acai berries and topped with delicious additions like granola, fresh fruit, nut butters, coconut flakes, chocolate and seeds.

Fresh acai berries have a short shelf life and aren’t available outside of where they are grown. For this reason, acai bowls are either made from frozen acai berries that are pureed with milk or water or from a dried acai berry powder that is blended with frozen banana, milk or ice.  

Are Acai Bowls Healthy?

Acai berries are very healthy, as we discussed above. They are an excellent source of anthocyanins, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.   

However, acai bowls can be made healthy or “not-so-healthy”, depending on the ingredients that are added during the blending and to the bowls. 

Acai bowls sold at cafes and juice bars often have substantial amounts of sugar added to help sweeten them. They also use toppings like granola that also contain hidden sugars. For this reason, making a homemade acai bowl is definitely a healthier option, as you can leave out the added sugars.

How to Make a Homemade Acai Bowl

To make your homemade acai bowl from scratch, you’ll need some acai puree (sold in frozen acai packs) or powder plus a selection of the following ingredients:

  • Frozen fruit – e.g. banana, blueberries and strawberries; this makes the acai bowl creamy
  • Liquid – milk, water, coconut water or juice 
  • Toppings:

To build your homemade acai bowl, simply follow these two easy steps.

  1. Blend – In a high-speed blender, blend your acai, choice of frozen fruit and liquid. You may need to start with your blender on low, using the tamper to push down the frozen fruit and mix as much as possible. Continue to blend and mix until a smooth and creamy consistency is formed. To help make your acai bowl thicker, add your liquid in slowly and stop when you reach your desired acai bowl thickness.
  2. Assemble – Scoop out your creamy acai mixture into a bowl or mason jar. Place your choice of toppings on top and enjoy immediately.   

Homemade Acai Bowl Recipe

Here is one of my favourite/favorite homemade acai bowl recipes for you to try. It only takes a few minutes to make, is loaded with antioxidants and fibre/fiber and doesn’t contain the added sugars that cafe-style acai bowls so often do.

Healthy Homemade Acai Bowl

  • Serves: 1
  • Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 pack (100g or 3.5 oz.) frozen acai puree
  • 1 banana, sliced and frozen
  • ½ cup frozen blueberries
  • 1/2 cup of plant milk
  • ½ fresh passionfruit
  • 2 fresh strawberries, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon of toasted coconut flakes

Method:

  1. Place acai pack, banana, blueberries and milk in a blender. Blend on low using tamper until completely smooth and creamy.
  2. Scoop out of the blender and place into a bowl or mason jar.
  3. Top with strawberries and sprinkle with coconut flakes. Place fresh passion fruit on top and enjoy immediately.

Note: You can add or swap out any of the toppings in this recipe for your own personal favourites/favorites.

Other Smoothie Recipes

Acai berries can also be used to make delicious smoothies. Acai smoothies are a great option if you are wanting the taste of a yummy acai bowl with the amazing nutrients but don’t have time to add all the fun toppings. 

Below is my favourite/favorite acai smoothie recipe plus five other healthy smoothie recipes for you to try. Each of these can be made following the same method:

Method:

  1. Place all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth and creamy.
  2. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

And now for some amazing recipes!

Homemade Acai Smoothie

  • Serves: 1
  • Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 packs (200g or 7 oz.) of frozen acai puree
  • ½ cup coconut water
  • ½ frozen banana
  • Handful of fresh strawberries
  • 1 tbsp nut butter (e.g. almond butter, cashew butter)

Caramel Vanilla Swirl Smoothie

  • Serves: 1
  • Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups plant milk
  • 1 banana, pre-frozen and sliced
  • Large handful of cashews
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 Medjool dates, seeds removed
  • 2 tsp chia seeds

Minty Magic Smoothie

  • Serves: 1
  • Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups plant milk
  • Flesh of 1 large ripe mango
  • Pulp of 1 passion fruit
  • 1 slice of pineapple
  • 1 small handful of mint leaves, washed

Apple Pie Smoothie

  • Serves: 1
  • Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 150g or 5-5.5 oz. of natural yoghurt/yogurt
  • 1 apple, cored
  • 1 cup of raspberries
  • Sprinkle of cinnamon
  • 2 tsp chia seeds
  • ½ cup plant milk

Blueberry Banger

  • Serves: 1
  • Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of plant milk
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries
  • ½ cup natural yoghurt/yogurt
  • 1 small cube of frozen spinach or kale
  • 1 tsp honey

Sunrise Smoothie

  • Serves: 1
  • Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups of plant milk
  • 1 cup of chopped papaya
  • 2 fresh strawberries, sliced
  • ½ banana
  • 2 heaped tablespoons of yoghurt/yogurt
  • 1 tsp hemp seeds
  • A few mint leaves

While these and other fruit based smoothie recipes can be pretty nutritious (for example, this strawberry shortcake protein smoothie ticks many boxes), vegetables are also a great option to include in your smoothies. If you would like to try some vegetable smoothies that are high in protein, I would recommend checking out my 6 easy vegetable smoothie recipes. Included are the Ultimate Vegetable Breakfast Smoothie and the Superfood Vegetable Smoothie, which are among my personal favorites.

Conclusion

Homemade acai bowls and smoothies are a delicious way to enjoy the health benefits of acai berries. Acai bowls are easy to make with just two steps of blending and then topping with your favourite/favorite additions of choice. If you don’t have time to make a beautiful acai bowl, you can try an acai smoothie or any of the other yummy smoothies above.

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Lover of health, fitness, and summer, Rebecca Gawthorne (BNutrDiet Hons. I, APD, AN) is a dedicated and energetic dietitian with a powerful influence in the online health space. Her credible, yet easy to relate to tone, has made her one of the media’s go-to girls for professional nutrition advice. Rebecca has extensive experience in working with brands to advocate healthy, nutritious living by capturing bright and inspiring images and showcasing these on her popular Instagram and blog, as well as working with the media to positively promote brands and educate consumers.